Swordsman of Ohara
by UltimateC3
Summary: What if Robin didn't meet Saul as a child but met the famed pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro instead? How would that have affected the future of both Robin and her beloved homeland of Ohara? Will the troubled archaeologist find comfort in the bounty hunter or will she be cast aside for his dream?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing okay (or at least better than I am). So I RANDOMLY had this idea flow through my head a few days ago and I felt like writing it before it went away. As most of you know, this **didn't actually happen**; I just got this random idea so here it is. In short, instead of Robin meeting Saul as I child, I'm writing it as her meeting Zoro instead (Zoro is still a bounty hunter/ hasn't met Luffy or anything yet but has his same swords and abilities as right before the timeskip). And yes, I may be stretching the pirate hunter's reputation a bit, but I don't care because he's a badass. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but I guess I'm going to extend it through Robin's entire flashback (meaning it probably won't be very long and there may be character deaths).

And don't worry; I'm not replacing Saul or anything. I love Saul and he's awesome, I just had this idea and wanted to experiment.

I do not own One Piece, as if that wasn't obvious enough.

* * *

The sun shone brightly as it lit up the island of scholars known as Ohara. The waves gently swept up the sandy shore, casting a peaceful sound along the beaches as the many groups of seagulls circled overhead. The sand was warm, the water was clear, and a slight breeze gently blew through the air, creating what seemed to be an ideal day. It was there that a young girl decided to take a walk along the coastline, embracing the tranquil environment as she attempted to smother unwelcomed thoughts inside her head.

This young girl was named Nico Robin, better known simply as "the monster" from the other children her age on the island. It had been a day since she was denied the right to study with the rest of the archaeologists in the tree of knowledge, consequently crushing her dreams of studying and reuniting with her forgotten mother. It seemed as though she was completely alone on the island of many fellow children and scholars, but unbeknownst to her, she was not the only one on the shoreline at that moment.

Robin continued slowly shuffling her sandaled feet through the warm sand, looking down at the ground in front of her, replaying the previous day's events in her head over and over again. Just like any other day in her life, she had been denied; denied her dream, denied her right to happiness, and denied her chance to not be alone. She had ultimately gotten used to this feeling, but still couldn't shake the sadness from her heart. She understood she was just a child and studying the void century meant disobeying the world government, but she didn't care; she was tired of being deprived of her interests. Robin read and studied all she could get her hands on while giving up a normal child's lifestyle of having fun, all for the sake of becoming a fully fledged archaeologist like her mother.

Robin was brought out of her thoughts when she felt a soothingly cool feeling wash over her feet. Not surprised that it was simply the small ocean waves washing up the shore, she raised her head to look along the beach. She stopped in her tracks and blinked her wide eyes multiple times, letting them focus on her center of attention. The raven haired girl let a curious hum escape her tiny lips as she tilted her head slightly to the side, examining the object. Determined to prove her suspicions correct, Robin skipped over to the object in mind.

"What the…" she hesitantly stuttered, staring at the body on lying in the sand before her.

Her hypothesis was correct, but she was still slightly shocked to see a human _body _washed up on the shore. It was definitely a man, from what she could see, and the body was lying flat on its stomach covered in blood and dirt from head to toe. It wore a black bandanna over the top of its head, which was half shoved in the sand, and a tattered white shirt stained red and brown from blood and dirt respectively along with a green haramaki and black pants and boots.

Robin eyed the body curiously before turning her attention to three swords attached to its waist. She crouched down next to the man's body to get a closer look at the katana before they started to move along with their owner. Robin quickly panicked and back pedaled away from the rising man, losing her footing and falling flat on her behind.

Small beads of sweat made their way down the nervous girl's face as she watched the struggling person, whom she thought was dead, push himself off the ground with his bleeding arms, grunting furiously in the process. The swordsman slowly raised his body off the sand and, after a few minutes of breathy grunts and curses, flipped himself over onto his back and sighed, beginning to breathe heavily to catch his breath.

Robin continued watching the injured man in awe from her spot a few feet behind him up the shore. She tried staying as quite as possible, afraid of the consequences of being found so close to the suffering man. A few minutes passed as the marooned swordsman's erratic breathing calmed to an ordinary level and Robin began to collect herself as well. At this point she was unsure of what to do. She could walk away as quietly as possible and leave the troubled man as if she hadn't seen anything, or she could stay and risk an interaction with him. She pondered said choices in her head for several moments until she was too late to decide for herself.

"H-Hey…" a low, gruff voice croaked from the man.

Robin froze in her sitting position, contemplating how to respond to her situation.

"I know you're…there…so don't try…and hide…" he continued without moving an inch.

"W-What do y-you want?" Robin's innocent voice traveled through the silent atmosphere until it hit the man's ears. There was a short pause between the two beach inhabitants as the swordsman fidgeted in what was either surprise or discomfort. Relying on his ears to assess the person behind him, the man seemed to come to a conclusion and was surprised to hear such a high pitched voice.

"Come here…" he curiously ordered. Robin continued to nervously stare at the top of the man's head from behind him, hesitantly sitting upright.

"I'm not….gonna hurt you… Just come here…" he said with a rather lighter tone to his dry voice.

Robin decided to listen to him, slowly standing up and tiptoeing over to the man lying down. She approached from the man's right side where his swords were and once she was standing over him, she hesitantly looked down, taking in his features. The front of his body didn't look any better than the back, with dried blood sticking to his head and his abdomen. Robin noticed his rough facial features, and if she wasn't nervous before, she was now. The bandanna that covered the top of his head cast a shadow over his eyes, making him even more intimidating to Robin, and she noticed three golden earrings dangling on his left ear along with…green sideburns? It must have been the lighting.

The man was staring up into the sky with squinted eyes, attempting to keep the sun from blinding him. He waited until the light footsteps in the sand became louder and louder, sensing the newcomer getting closer and was relieved they listened to him.

Hearing the footsteps stop next to him and seeing the sun blocked out by the unknown host, he was met with two large, innocent cyan eyes of a young girl. His eyebrows flew upward and his mouth formed into a surprised frown as the girl nervously stood over him, cautiously looking down at him. He wasn't expecting anyone old or large from the voice he had heard, but he was still surprised at the young face of the girl looking down at him. He quickly studied her from her head down to her feet, noticing her purple sandals, purple dress, black hair, blue eyes, and noting that she was quite short. He couldn't find an exact word to attach to her other than…cute, not that he would ever admit it to himself or anyone else, but he could tell she certainly wasn't a snot-nosed crybaby or anything.

"You're…just a girl…" he thought out loud, unsure of whether she heard him or not.

She slightly twitched afterwards, making him aware that she did hear him and she was obviously nervous, but he wouldn't blame the girl. He had sat idly by and observed many other people shake nervously in his presence.

"Relax…I'm not going to...hurt you. As you can see, I'm not…really in any position…to do anything…" he spoke through erratic breaths as he attempted to ignore the pain pulsing through his body and focus on the girl above him. To his slight pleasure, she seemed to calm down a bit and softened the expressions on her face.

"What do you want?" she asked, brushing a tuft of her hair behind her ear.

The swordsman then closed his eyes tightly and grit his teeth, letting a deep grunt escape his throat. Robin quickly dropped to her knees and put her arms out to try and help, noticing that he was in pain. He sighed deeply and opened his eyes again, only to see the girl nervously hovering over him. She timidly returned to her standing position and turned her gaze to a random shell on the ground. The swordsman's lips tugged upward into a small smirk upon noticing the girl's shy antics.

"Do you see my swords…next to you here?" asked the swordsman, capturing Robin's attention.

"Umm…yeah. These three right here?" she asked pointing down to the swords in question.

"Yeah. See if you can take one of them…out of my holster…" he said, motioning to his waist band with his hand.

"Uhh…okay…" Robin knelt down to her previous position and observed the three swords on the man's waist. "Is this white one okay?"

"Sure…doesn't matter," he stated patiently. Robin nervously grabbed the hilt of the white sword, having never held a sword before, and gently pulled it out of its scabbard. Sweat rolled down her face and she could feel herself become increasingly tense as she stared at her reflection in the extremely sharp sword.

"Whoa…hang on there…" the swordsman interrupted, "Keep the sword in the scabbard. I want you to pull…the whole thing off my waist band…including the cover…" he told her, trying to simplify the terms for her.

"O-Oh…I'm s-sorry…" she apologized and slid the sword back into its scabbard.

Understanding what he wanted, Robin grabbed the scabbard of the sword and slid it through his holder, noting the unexpected weight of the sword and letting out a few childish grunts. She finally pulled the entire thing through and lifted it up as she stood, slightly losing her balance and clutching the sword to her small body.

"There…you did it…" he sarcastically congratulated, smirking as he saw her smile a toothy grin, obviously not catching the sarcasm.

The swordsman stuck his arm out and opened his hand, motioning for the sword. With a good amount of effort, Robin lifted the sword and placed it in his hand then retreated back a few steps. She stood there and watched as he leaned upwards and stuck the sword with its scabbard into the sand, serving as a balance of weight to help him get up. Grunting and leaning onto the sword, he was finally able to rise into a sitting position, crossing his legs and lounging forwards. As his breath caught up to him he once again noticed a pair of azure eyes glued onto him.

"Uhh…thanks for the help." He said looking up at her. "You're…free to go play…or whatever…" he grumbled.

He then closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, but was then interrupted when he heard a light thump on the ground across from him. He raised his head and saw the girl sitting criss-cross a few feet away from him.

'_Oh great, now I'm gonna have a persistent kid following me around…'_ he thought to himself.

"Now what?" he asked rather sternly, but she didn't flinch, instead she lowered her gaze to the ground and spoke softly.

"I don't have anyone to play with…"

He raised an eyebrow curiously. If anyone else was on the beach, they'd be bawling their eyes out; however, he wasn't affected by the girl.

"What do you mean you don't have anyone to play with?" he asked, as if it was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard.

"I don't have any friends…" she said lightly, hugging her knees to her chest and looking back at the swordsman. He just furrowed his eyebrows at the confession and looked at the small girl before turned his gaze towards the ocean.

"Don't have any friends, eh?" It wasn't exactly the most comforting remark, but the raven haired girl didn't seem to care.

"Everyone thinks I'm a monster…"

'_Everyone thinks she's a monster? What the hell kind of place is this?'_

"Why the hell do people think you're a monster?" asked the dumbfounded swordsman, not bothering to censor his language.

Robin then waved her hand through the air as pink flowered petals blew through the air and countless arms began to sprout from a nearby tree. The swordsman looked at the tree with a surprised expression, knowing that it certainly wasn't what he expected.

"I'm guessing you ate a devil fruit?" he inquired, trying not to hurt the already depressed girl. She just nodded to his question and continued to stare at the ground.

"Is that the reason they call you a monster?" he asked and received another nod.

"Is it because you have an advantage over them, or is it because they're too afraid to face reality?" he continued his questions while looking up into the sky. His new question seemed to catch Robin's attention as her eyes turned towards him.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, not understanding his point.

"Well it's obvious you're the only one who can do that right?" the girl nodded as a reply, "So that makes you special compared to everyone else, and if I were you I'd be proud of that," he said reassuringly.

"S-Special?" she asked with a slight blush on her face. The swordsman looked at her with a confused look before smiling.

"Yeah, besides…you're not the only one who can multiply their body parts…" he grinned.

"Y-You've eaten a devil fruit too!?" she curiously asked, almost excitedly.

The swordsman laughed. "Haha…not quite. I can only do it under certain circumstances," explained the injured man.

"Certain circumstances? Like what?"

"Like when I'm about to kill someone…" he said, flashing his teeth in a twisted grin. Sure enough, Robin let out a shriek loud enough to make the swordsman regret ever saying anything.

"Relax, relax! I'm joking!" he lied as the girl gained her composure again.

The two stayed silent for a few minutes and allowed the slow breeze to brush past them. The swordsman took this time to examine the sky, realizing that the sun had begun to set. Knowing he had better things to do than sit here and entertain a random girl, he slowly began to stand up. Being able to stand relatively easily, he looked back down at the girl who had a worried look on her face.

"Do pirates often come through this island?" The random question caught the girl off guard, but she recovered and stood up on her feet, only reaching up to his waist in height.

"Pirates? No, I don't think so…" she responded. Strangely deciding to trust the young girl's knowledge of the island, the swordsman secured his swords to his belt and slowly turned to the side.

"Well that's a shame. I suppose I better get going now. Thanks for the help, squirt," the swordsman said before walking off along the shoreline opposite to the way Robin came. Robin hung her head again and looked back to the leaving swordsman, sorting through conflicting thoughts in her head, before running after him.

"Where are you going?" the young girl asked looking up at him after running to his side.

"Huh? You still here?" he responded, sounding less than pleased. Robin reverted her eyes from the swordsman and to the ground knowing that she'd once again end up being alone.

The tall man looked down at the sulking girl and sighed against his better judgment. He was the world's future greatest swordsman! As ruthless as it was, he didn't have time to deal with this girl. That being said, his actions disregarded his thoughts completely.

"Hey kid…what's your name?" he asked, watching as the girl's eyes shot up from the ground to meet his.

"M-My name?"

"Yeah, your name… You've got one, right?" At this point, he didn't really know if anything else could surprise him about this girl.

"Of course I do," she smiled, "It's Robin. Nico Robin," she said happily.

"Nico Robin…" he repeated to himself and turned his gaze forward. "That's a good name."

"What's your name?!" she asked with a curious glow to her features.

"Uhh…my name?" he stuttered, not exactly wanting to deal with the fuss that would ensue after relaying his name. For the second time that day, he went against his original thoughts, admitting to himself that he couldn't lie to the girl.

"I'm Roronoa Zoro…" he said, preparing for the shock to settle into the girl.

"Roronoa Zoro? That's a strange name," Robin commented to Zoro's surprise.

"Strange? Uhh…yeah…it is kinda strange…" he said, inwardly sighing since she didn't know him.

"It's a good name though… Rowonara-" They both blinked at each other, realizing that she just butchered his name. Zoro looked at her like she was drunk, but she just started giggling.

"Whoops… I guess I messed that up…" she said between giggles. Zoro couldn't help but smirk; normally he would have gotten pissed at someone for destroying his name like that, but he continually found himself overlooking his usual gruff personality all day.

"Roronoa…" she finally corrected herself. She looked back up at Zoro and started giggling again, "That _is_ a weird name..." she laughed.

"Yeah, yeah… it's a weird name. To save you the humiliation, you can just call me Zoro."

"Okay, Zoro," she smiled up at him as they continued to walk. "So where are you going?"

Zoro frowned and looked down at the little girl. She sure was nosy…

"Well, I don't have any money so I'm not gonna bother going to town, and you said that there aren't many pirates here, so I don't have much to do. Once my wounds heal I guess I'll make a raft or something a set off to another island," he explained, much to the disappointment of his young follower.

"You-You're leaving?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Of course I'm leaving… Don't tell me you're upset, you don't even know who I am, and it's better that it stays that way," he looked out to sea as Robin watched him closely. "Besides, shouldn't a young girl like you be spending time with her parents?"

At this, Robin stopped walking entirely and looked down, allowing her hair to shade her face.

"I don't have any parents…" she spoke, her voice barely audible to the swordsman's trained ears.

"I don't have any family. I don't have any friends. The closest things I have are the other archaeologists, but they won't let me study with them." Zoro turned around to face her and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for her to continue.

"I have a mom, but I haven't seen her in years. She's been busy with all her archaeological research, but when she comes back, I'm going to ask her to take me along on her next trip. That's why I've been studying so hard, I got my archaeology doctorate just like her." Zoro raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"You have a doctorate? A little shrimp like you? You've gotta be like…what…ten years old!"

"I'm eight actually…" she interrupted.

"Eight…even better. How the hell can_ you_ get a doctorate?"

"I've spent most of my life studying so that I can be just like my mother…" she mumbled.

"You're a persistent little thing aren't ya?" Zoro wasn't even _trying_ to comfort her, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, Zoro…" she said looking up at him which grabbed his attention.

"Hmm? What?"

"Did you know that our world has a period of about a hundred years that nobody knows about?" Robin hopefully waited for his response, looking a little less depressed than she was a moment ago.

Zoro looked at her and sighed, "Look Robin, sorry but I don't really know anything about history or archaeology…" he admitted, scratching the back of his bandanna covered head. This caused Robin to sink back into her depressed state, slightly annoying Zoro, but he knew better than to chastise her for it.

"I may not know much about history…" he began, shifting his gaze away from her and to the ocean once again, "But I do know what's it's like to not have parents…"

Hearing this, Robin's eyes widened and she looked up at the swordsman curiously. The orange sky from the setting sun cast a shadow along his front as he continued looking out to the ocean.

"It may not seem like it, but I had a pretty crummy childhood myself. There were very few people I interacted with, and I only lived for one purpose, as I do today…" he spoke in his usual deep tone, but in a calm way.

"Robin…" said Zoro while he turned his head to look at her, "You got a dream?" he asked the wide-eyed girl. She slowly swallowed and blinked a few times.

"Y-Yes! I want to be just like my mother and find the true history!" she declared strongly as Zoro smirked.

"Well if you just keep to that and stay true to yourself, nothing else matters… You'd do well to remember that…" he turned back around and eyed his path ahead, noticing the darkening sky and the faint moon in the sky. "As for me, I'm right in the middle of mine, so I've got to keep working towards it…"

And with that, the swordsman continued walking down the shoreline into the moonlight, leaving the young archaeologist alone once again on the beach.

* * *

**A/N:** Well there ya go! Pretty weird right?

I thought it was a good idea at first but after writing this, I'm not so sure...but whatever; I have to finish it now that I started.

I don't even know why I'm saying this but just to clear things up I will: Just because this is a story about Zoro and Robin, does NOT mean it is in any way ROMANTIC. Robin is 8 (I think...) and Zoro is 19 (or whatever floats your boat), so just because one of them blushes or something, does NOT mean they're having a "moment" or anything ridiculous. Sorry fangirls, but this isn't a ZoRobin fic. And for anyone who accuses Zoro of being a pedophile in this story, well shame on you! Heww... Now that that's out of my system...

Thanks all you awesome readers! This story shouldn't take over a week or two...(even for me)

As always, a review would be greatly appreciated (especially since I have no idea whether this is a good idea or a total shipwreck).

If you have any questions feel free to leave them in a review or shoot me a PM... and no, my author's notes will not be this long for each chapter...

See ya'll later!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Oh yeah! Movin' along!

Wow, chapter 2 already? I managed to write two chapters in three days AND avoid failing any of my many exams this week! *pats self on shoulder* As you can tell, I'm quite proud of myself.

This chapter's basically all fluff, as in not much plot advancement. I was thinking of just skipping this and getting right into the action, but I wanted to try and strengthen Zoro and Robin's bond a little...(hopefully it's not too corny or anything). The next (final) chapters are going to be pretty straightforward, and unfortunately, not as happy. But, so is the nature of writing a story such as this...

Hooray!

Once again, I do not own One Piece.

* * *

The next morning came too quickly. The sun was out again, giving the island a mildly warm glow, and the ocean waves melodically brushed up onto the shore. The waters were calm and no ships were out sailing, save for one, barely visible out in the distance.

The large battleship slowly drifted with the currents with its site set on the island of Ohara. On board, people could be heard shuffling on deck and in and out of the cabins. Men dressed thoroughly in black suits and sunglasses stood guard on each side of the ship, scouring the area, as the ship with the words WORLD GOV. printed on the sail patiently approached the island. Among the group of men at the helm, the answering of a marine den den mushi could be heard.

"This is Navy Headquarters," a voice said from the snail, "Once again, we're hoping we could speak to chief Spandine. Chief Spandine, please come in."

"You heard 'em chief, they want to talk to ya…" a strange, pink haired agent said, turning to his leader.

"Just ignore it. I'm sure they just want a status report," came a conceited voice a few feet away before continuing.

"We'll contact them when we see the shore. That should be good enough for them. Ohara, Opera, whatever, I hate having to come all the way to the West Blue just for this. What a worthless mission. Let's get this over with and get the hell out of here."

The chief, better known as Spandine, sported an aggravated look on his unpleasant face as he looked out towards the tree covered island. The agents nearby him simply nodded and got up from their places on deck, motivating the other men to begin their respected duties.

The ship continued to drift smoothly in the direction of the island, seemingly waiting for an opportune moment.

* * *

The early morning weather was just as compromising in the town around the tree of knowledge. The sun shone brightly through the tree's leaves and lit the streets between each and every house. Birds were chirping, flowers had bloomed, and the sky was as blue as ever. A faint breeze blew through the town, carrying vagrant scents of flowers and freshly baked bread for sale outside the markets.

The town was peacefully silent as the villagers began to wake up and begin their morning routines. Then, out of nowhere, the door to one of the townhouses burst open and revealed a young, raven haired girl as she ran down the street with a happy smile on her face. The few villagers who saw the girl looked on in confusion, while some even had disgusted looks on their faces.

Robin ran as fast as she could to the edge of the island, excited to see the visitor she had met yesterday. She continued running to the edge of town and silently hoped she would be able to see the strange swordsman again. Not being acclimated to the feeling of having someone to share her thoughts with, the little girl was inwardly thrilled to have someone nice to talk to without judging her.

'_I guess this is what having a friend feels like…'_ she thought to herself as she approached the line of trees separating the town from the coast.

Starting to pant as she clumsily continued running towards the trees, the archaeologist narrowed her eyes in hopes of seeing anything on the beach. For one of the first times in her life, Robin was running _towards_ something, rather than away, and this _something_ turned out to be an outsider. A fearless swordsman who had washed up on the shore she just so happened to be walking on, and was miraculously alive and able to raise her spirits…

Stopping under the trees that overlooked the beach, Robin regained her breath and gradually made her way through the plants and onto the top of the shore. The girl prayed he would still be here, but knew not to get her hopes up. Odds were commonly known to be against her.

Robin scanned the beach intently and opened her mouth in sheer excitement when her eyes landed on a small bonfire burning on the sand, with a white shirt hanging on a stick to dry. Robin sprinted down to the fire, intent of finding her new friend, but frowned when he was nowhere in sight.

Hearing a nearby splash, Robin immediately turned her head towards the ocean and was met with a shirtless green haired swordsman carrying two sticks with a bunch of fish impaled on them. Robin's eyes widened and she grinned a wide smile, her white teeth gleaming in the sunlight. The swordsman was walking through the shallow water, shaking his head to relieve his hair of the salty water. Watching him intently, Robin's thin eyebrows rose in surprise and she stared at him in bewilderment, noticing something strange about the man.

She was brought out of her sudden realization when she noticed Zoro looking up at his fire and ultimately at her. Robin smiled excitedly and looked back at him, waiting for his reaction. However, the swordsman's reaction was far from what the girl expected.

Upon seeing the raven haired child waiting for him on the beach, Zoro gritted his teeth and furrowed his eyebrows in what looked to be an expression of anger. A low growl escaped his throat as he looked at the girl with piercing eyes, reaching the edge of the shoreline.

"HEY! KID!" he roared, clearly annoyed.

Robin blinked her eyes a few times before feeling a heavy weight drop into her stomach.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE!?" The swordsman finally reached the dry sand, close enough to speak without yelling, and began making his way up to both the fire and the alarmed girl.

"I-I came to s-see you…"

The girl stuttered nervously and leaned slightly away from him, frightened by his annoyed behavior.

"I thought we said are goodbyes last night," he warned strictly, his furrowed eyebrows indicating his frustration.

"S-Said…our g-goodbyes? B-But I wanted…to s-see you again…"

The young girl was now looking at him in disbelief and on the verge of tears.

"Look… I've got a lot of shit to take care of and I don't have time to deal with you. Now get out of here…"

Zoro placed his sticks over the fire to let the fish cook, clearly not regretting anything he said or the way he said it. Hearing a quiet whimpering sound followed by a short sniff, Zoro lifted his head at the girl to see tears flowing down her face from her big blue eyes.

Robin stared at him for a few more seconds, continuing to cry and bite her bottom lip, before she tried wiping her tears away with her small hands, failing miserably. Rather than turning and running away into the trees, she just stood there crying and sniffing, attempting to control her runny nose, while periodically let small sobs escape her lips.

Instead of cursing and ignoring the girl, Zoro sighed and sat down next to the fire a few feet away from the poor child. He continued to stare at the crying girl and found himself in a conflicting battle between thoughts inside his head.

"Hey…"

Robin twitched and followed the deep soothing voice with her watery eyes to the swordsman. Wearing his regular mask over his face, he looked towards the ground and stumbled for words.

"Look… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way…" the swordsman explained calmly, very much against his usual thoughts.

*sigh* "I don't know where I am, and there certainly isn't much for me to do on this island, so I have to leave sooner or later… Sure it was nice talking to you yesterday, but I need to continue my quest, and I know a girl like you wouldn't want to see me leave, especially when you act like I'm your _friend_."

Robin calmed downed and tried to control her still flowing tears as she looked up at the swordsman in surprise.

"B-But you…you are my f-friend."

Zoro looked back at her, clearly unsure of how to act or even feel for that matter. He looked at her flushed face and watched her rub her teary eyes, almost feeling bad for her. There wasn't much he could do. This was the truth after all, and the truth sometimes hurts.

"How am I your friend? You found me practically dead on the shore and we exchanged names and left… I could be a psychopathic murderer for all you know."

"You didn't…seem like one to m-me… N-No one's ever treated me…like you did before…" she mumbled between sniffs. "E-Everyone always looked…at me like I was s-so…inferior…or they just ran away…and called me a m-monster…"

Zoro frowned. He really wanted to meet some of these people to show them what a real monster was like.

"B-But you were nice to me and treated me like a normal person…" She began to gain her composure back and looked at Zoro. He exhaled deeply and patted the sand next to him, motioning for her to sit down in front of the fire.

"Well relax, because I don't see you as a monster or anything. I just see you as a normal _smart_ eight year old girl," he confessed, quickly adding the word 'smart' after he remembered she had a doctorate.

As a small smile tugged at the lips of the raven haired girl, she quietly walked over to the spot near the swordsman and sat down, feeling the warmth of the fire against her small body. Wiping the last of her tears away, she looked back at Zoro before gazing into the small flames in front of her.

Zoro eyed her and smirked, before getting up and tending to the fish.

"Well, I guess I'll be staying around here for a bit longer…" Zoro said, grabbing her attention and returning to his spot in the sand with a stick full of cooked fish. "So I suppose a little bit of company wouldn't hurt…"

Robin looked up at him with wide eyes and, seeing the small grin on his face, smiled back happily.

"You want some? It's actually not bad…" the swordsman offered a piece of fish on the end of his stick.

"N-No, I'm fine…thanks."

"You sure? I've got a ton here…and I'm sure as hell not gonna eat it all."

Robin stared at the freshly cooked fish and then at Zoro before hesitantly taking the stick of fish and taking a small nibble out of it, surprised at the flavor and lack of 'fishiness'.

Zoro smirked and took a bite of his own.

"A stupid cook once told me never to waste food…" he told her, reminiscing to a time in the past.

Robin looked up at him innocently, "A stupid cook? What kind of proverb is that?"

"Proverb? Trust me; anything that comes out of that dartboard's mouth is complete garbage."

"Oh…" Robin agreed, not really understanding what he was talking about.

Zoro chuckled. "Yeah, a while back me and couple bounty hunters I knew stopped at this one restaurant in the East Blue after bringing in a good bounty. Dumbasses wouldn't stop bothering me about it, so I decided to give in…"

Robin listened as she continued eating her fish with a smile on her face.

"It was the first time I had ever been to a floating restaurant."

"It was a floating restaurant?"

"Yeah…it was a boat that was used as a sea restaurant, and there were some tough guys in there. They needed to watch out for pirates, so each cook employed there knew how to fight. Food was pretty good, but the service was shitty. You may think I'm crazy, but our waiter's eyebrows looked like this…"

Zoro took his stick and drew his mental picture into the sand. Robin _did_ look at him like he was crazy.

"That's what his eyebrows looked like?"

"I told you he was stupid."

Robin giggled and looked at the drawing again before looking up at Zoro. Remembering what she had noticed before, Robin asked, "Umm…Zoro, why is your hair green?"

Zoro paused for a minute. "What do you mean 'why is my hair green'"

"It's green! What happened? Is it from the water or something?"

"No, nothing happened! My hair _is_ green."

"Your hair's green!?" Robin asked in disbelief.

"Uhh…yeah. Didn't you notice yesterday?"

"Your hair's green! Hahahaha…" Robin started laughing and pointing at his head.

Much to his own surprise, Zoro _didn't _throw the girl into the ocean, but instead chuckled at the girl's laughter.

"Yes, my hair is green… See? You're not the only monster around here."

Robin eased her laughter into a light giggle. "You really _are_ weird."

"Yeah, well so are you." Zoro said completely serious, but Robin just started laughing again. Zoro chuckled to himself and stoked the fire. The two continued sitting next to the fire, watching the clouds slowly shift overhead as the sun pierced through and warmed the beach. Appreciating the silence but sporting a curious look on his face, Zoro turned to the short girl sitting near him.

"So you said your dream was to uncover the blank century or something?"

Robin looked up at him with bright eyes. "Yeah, that's what the other archaeologists I studied with do in secret…but they won't let me join them," she said with a change in her mood.

"I don't see why not… I mean for god's sake, you've got a _doctorate_, why wouldn't they let you study with them?" Zoro clearly didn't understand the logic of these islanders…

"They said that studying the void century is illegal and means going against the world government…"

"Going against the world government, huh? I guess that's not really a surprise… I'm sure something like that is taken pretty seriously among those idiots, I mean, why else would they forbid people from studying an entire _century_ that nobody knows about? They're obviously hiding something…" Zoro thought out loud.

"I just want to be with my mother and help her research…"

Zoro frowned and looked at the raven haired girl.

"So how long has your mom been gone? You mentioned yesterday that she had left some time ago to work on her research."

"I haven't seen her in years… I don't even remember her face…but she's still my mom, and I still want to follow her dream…" Robin said in a quiet voice.

"Well, if you keep thinking that way, I'm sure she'll return soon enough, and then you can finally show all those bastards what you've worked so hard for," he smirked at the girl. She smiled and curiously looked up at him, seeming to get an idea in her head.

"What do you do, Zoro?"

"What do I do?"

"Yeah… I mean, not everyone washes up on shores all injured and stuff, so you must do some pretty weird things…"

"Haha… Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess you can say I'm a bounty hunter of sorts, but I only collect bounties because I need food to live…"

"Whoa… You're a bounty hunter? So that's why you asked me if there were any pirates here, right?" she asked, piecing it all together like she had so many times before.

"You're damn right. I'm flat broke so there's really no point in going into town, although I could use a couple of drinks…" he mumbled the last part.

"Hmm… That's pretty interesting. So you're a swordsman?" she said, gazing at his swords on the ground.

"Yup."

"But why do you have three? Do you like changing it up each time, or are the others just for decoration?"

"Decoration? Hell no. I use all three."

"All three? How!?"

"Two arms and a mouth," he stated like it was no big deal, "I've spent my entire life mastering the three sword style, but I've still got a long way to go…"

"So you're like that one guy…?"

"What guy?"

"There's this guy in the news every now and then. I think he's from the East Blue. He's a bounty hunter and uses three swords, just like you. I don't really remember his name though… I think he was called the pirate hunter or something…" she said as she scrunched her face, trying to remember.

"Oh yeah, that guy… I've heard of him…" Zoro said in a joking tone, but the girl didn't notice.

"Yeah… Everyone says he's some sort of bloodthirsty demon, but I don't believe them…" Robin uttered proudly, making Zoro laugh.

"Oh, really? Why not?" the swordsman asked, grinning at her quizzically, clearly amused.

"I-I don't know… It's hard to believe that someone can _actually_ be a demon…" spoke the girl hesitantly.

Zoro looked at her and thought for a minute before answering, a big smirk rolling onto his face.

"But he's killed countless people before. You sure he's not a demon?" he asked, evidently testing her.

"N-No…but he fights pirates, right? I don't really think it makes sense to be called a criminal just because you kill other criminals… I'm sure he has his reasons…"

Zoro looked at Robin, who seemed to be unsure of what she was saying, and smiled.

"I like the way you think kid…" he told the girl, only to receive a proud smile in return. "Though I don't care what most other people do, I don't judge. Only the weak judge." He told her sternly.

"When you think of your fellow researchers or you mother, do you think of them as criminals?"

"Of course not!" Robin yelled, answering his rhetorical question.

"You have to realize, that if the rest of the world found out, they would no doubt be pinned as criminals; but you know they're not criminals. They simply want to do what they believe is right, and what just so happens to be perceived as wrong to the rest of the world."

Robin nodded understandably, accepting Zoro's advice from his unexpected lesson.

"There are two views in this world. You've got to know which side you're on without being affected by the other."

"Which side are you on, Zoro?"

"Which side am I on? That's a good question," the green haired man admitted. Robin waited for his response patiently.

"If what you've told me is true, I guess I'm on the same side as your mother." Robin looked at her new friend in surprise, waiting for him to explain himself.

"She doesn't seem bothered by the fact that her dream is illegal according to the world government, and if it was my dream to discover the true history then I wouldn't care either."

Robin suddenly felt a wave of confidence flow through her and couldn't help but smile warmly at the bounty hunter.

"Then what's your dream, Zoro?" The swordsman exhaled and stared into the small flames of the waning fire.

"My dream is to become the world's greatest swordsman…"

"Do you think it'll happen?" the young girl asked innocently. Zoro redirected his gaze to the archaeologist, frowning a bit.

"It's not a question of _if _it'll happen; it's a question of _how _and _when_ it'll happen. I've devoted my entire life to becoming the greatest, and when I decided to follow my dream, I had already discarded my life."

Robin kept staring at the swordsman, trying to decide whether she was the same. Zoro was practically talking to himself the entire time, looking into the fire while reminding himself of his ultimate goal. Snapping out of his life lesson, the green haired man stood up off the sand and grabbed his long-dried shirt hanging over the fire. The young girl watched him, awkwardly noticing the numerous scars on his muscular body while heat rose up in her cheeks, clearly not used to seeing such things up close.

Slipping his shirt on and patting it down, the swordsman looked down at the girl before grabbing his swords and slipping them in his holster.

"Well I guess I outta start making a raft or something… These trees should do the trick," Zoro looked at the many trees surrounding the top of the shore. Robin watched him walk towards the top of the beach where the trees were lined up, studying his targets for a moment.

"Oi, you might wanna watch out," he said, waving a hand in the air to the girl behind him. Realizing what he was about to do, Robin quickly got up on her feet and backed away towards the ocean. She eagerly watched the swordsman as he concentrated on the trees in front of him and lowered his hand to the hilt of one of his swords.

Letting out a low grunt, Zoro unsheathed his sword at the speed of light and slashed across his chest, slicing three trees in a row cleanly from their trunks. As the trees began to fall, Zoro sheathed his sword and looked back to Robin, who was standing farther down the shore with awe in her eyes. Zoro then proceeded to cut the trees into manageably sizable logs for his raft and piled them up a few yards away from the burned out fire.

"That should do it…" he sighed, commenting on his work and deciding to finish later.

"Wow…you're pretty strong…" Robin praised once she made it back to the fire. "I can see why you want you be the world's greatest swordsman."

"Trust me, it's gonna take a lot more than cutting up a few trees to be the best…"

"Oh…"

Zoro smirked at Robin's innocence, watching the girl study the huge pile of logs he had just put together. The two sat back in their normal spots and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sound of the waves rising up the beach and engaging in meaningless small talk, much to Robin's delight. Zoro would doze off every now and then against a rock he had been leaning on, while Robin tried to do the same but to no avail.

The sun had slowly settled behind the tree of knowledge as dusk rolled over the southern part of the island where the two were stationed. Zoro relit the fire and leaned back against one of the logs he put down as a bench around the fire as Robin slowly but surely inched closer to the tired swordsman. Watching the strange man fall back asleep next to her, Robin contemplated returning to her aunt's house, but soon scratched the thought out of her mind as she leaned her head on Zoro's arm, slowly drifting off into sleep.

Although she was probably going regret this the next time she went back to her aunt's house, the distressed girl took the opportunity relieve her mind of all her lonely thoughts.

* * *

On the opposite side of the island, the shoreline held a more eerie presence. Instead of a fire and two friends sleeping against one another, there was a small ship resting in the shallow waters of the ocean behind a thick curtain of fog. Footsteps could be heard as they slopped in the wet sand of the beach, leading a hidden individual up towards the island. The wind picked up and blew the stranger's overcoat to the side, not hampering their advancement up the shore.

As the visitor looked up towards the tree of knowledge, the bright full moon reflected in two sharp blue eyes, staring forward with undying determination.

* * *

**A/N:** Boom! Done!

Wow, Zoro was pretty damn talkative in this chapter... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not...

If you are reading this, I thank you, because that probably means that your reading my story (or at least chapter 2).

Don't forget to plop in a review! Greatly appreciated!

Farewell, awesome readers!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Bah... This took _way_ too long to write. I wanted this story to be finished two weeks ago, but damn school isn't giving me a break. This chapter may seem a bit choppy since I've written it in numerous short segments. I haven't had a chance to sit down for an hour or two and hammer it out, that's how swamped I've been. I'm not making excuses, but I really want to finish this story so I can get back to Away From Home.

This chapter's pretty boring. It's the main plot part of Robin's flashback, so there aren't many things different. If you come across a name that you've never heard before, it's most likely one of the archaeologists working with Clover (I had to serve them justice and put their names in...)

I do not own One Piece. Also, as we all know, the main plot of this story is owned by Eiichiro Oda; this is simply a spinoff of sorts. All rights go to the creator of One Piece.

* * *

A cold breeze blew over the shore of the island where the green haired swordsman had drifted up on. The sun was shining over the island, but the atmosphere held a strange feel to it, as if this day would be different from the rest. The cold breeze shook the bounty hunter awake who had fallen asleep against one of the logs around the burnt out fire.

"Ugh…" he groaned as he rubbed his head without opening his eyes, trying to relieve himself of a morning headache. Slowly opening his narrow eyes to adjust to the early day light, the swordsman found himself staring up into the sky, noting the tint of gray that could been seen throughout the usual blue.

Yawning lazily, the swordsman began to lean up to start his third day on the island, before noticing a faint weight fidget against his left arm. Curious, he turned his head to look at the point of interest and was surprisingly met with the sight of the young archaeologist comfortably leaning on him, clearly asleep. Zoro continued to stare at the girl, not sure whether to be surprised or angry, before sighing gently and shifting his body to move the girl. Holding her with his arms, careful not to snap her like a twig, he sat up and softly placed her back down on the sand before feeling her shiver slightly.

Clearly not used to dealing with children like this, Zoro scratched the back of his head in annoyance as he took off his shirt and placed it over her like a blanket, which seemed to cover most of her small body. Looking down at the archaeologist in bewilderment, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of people on this island would make a young girl like her want to sleep on a cold beach with an unknown swordsman rather than sleep in a warm bed in town.

Zoro took his eyes off the sleeping girl and made his way down to the ocean to clean up. Scooping up the cold salt water in his hands before washing it over his face and hair, the swordsman gazed straight out into the sea, where the ocean and the sky met along the horizon. After being slightly captivated by the sight, Zoro shook his head and looked back up the shore at Robin, who was still sleeping calmly.

Frowning for whatever reason, the bounty hunter went back to cleaning his face and wounds until he once again found himself looking out across the ocean and around him. He felt a tense feeling wash over him and knew something was wrong, but couldn't place a finger on the odd sensation. Quickly looking back to Robin to see if she was alright, the swordsman sighed upon seeing the raven haired archaeologist the way he left her, but shook his head and cursed himself. He was worrying about something; worrying about nothing; knowing damn well that he shouldn't have been worrying about _anything_.

So what if he felt something bad was going to happen? It's not like it involved him…

Looking off into the distance along the coastline of the island, Zoro squint his eyes sharply upon seeing something. He watched intently as the shadowy object made its way closer to the side of the island.

* * *

"Professor!"

"Professor Clover!"

Two Ohara scholars yelled as they climbed their way up the tree of knowledge to professor Clover's room.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" the professor calmly asked upon seeing Roche and Zadie burst through the door almost out of breath.

"I hope it's nothing to worry about, but I just heard that a Navy ship is anchored at the shoreline!" Roche exclaimed.

"They might be here for an investigation. We should be cautious, just in case!" suggested Zadie.

Clover put down his pen and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Hmm… Very well. We should let the other scholars know…"

"Right!" the two younger archaeologists yelled before running out of the room to warn the rest.

* * *

"What the…hell? Is that a marine ship?" Zoro mumbled to himself upon seeing a ship sail up to the adjacent side of the island.

"What the hell is a marine ship doing here? Just my like… Those damn idiots always seem to follow me around. And that's no ordinary marine ship… That looks like a battleship to me…" The swordsman continued to stare at the ship before it sailed up to the island; Zoro's vision of the ship becoming blocked by the island's many trees.

"I wonder what the hell they're doing here… I doubt there are any pirates here and Robin said she never saw any…" he pondered to himself before exiting the water and walking up the shore.

'_I suppose I should wake the girl up. I don't know what's going on here, so maybe she'd have an idea' _he thought to himself, looking down at the still sleeping girl.

"Hey kid, wake up. Marines are here, let's go…" Zoro said as he crouched down and shook the girl awake. If he was trying to be comforting, he sure as hell wasn't doing a good job.

Robin stirred and rolled over to her other side, now facing away from Zoro.

"Hey kid, come on! Get up!" he ordered before taking his shirt off of her and putting back on.

Feeling the cool breeze blow over her, Robin moaned and leaned up; rubbing her eyes before letting them adjust to the sun.

"Huh?" Robin mumbled in a quiet voice as she looked up and saw Zoro's not-amused scowl, "Oh…hi Zoro…"

Zoro watched the girl stretch and let out a yawn that would give his a run for their money. Sighing to himself, he sat down next to the girl before looking at her sternly.

"I know this probably isn't the best wake up call, but…there's a marine ship that just anchored on the eastern shore. Do you have any idea why it's here?" he asked while trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

Robin looked at him with wide eyes, "A m-marine ship…? Is h-here?"

Zoro could tell something was wrong with the girl.

"Yeah…that's what I said. Why? What the hell's going on?"

Robin was looking at Zoro, but seemed to be dazing off as her mind traveled elsewhere.

* * *

"_Professor, I'd like to solve the mystery of the blank century!"_

"_Wha…! No! You can't! I strictly forbid it, just like I always have!"_

"_Huh? But why? I don't get it… If we want to solve the mysteries of the world, shouldn't we study the Poneglyphs to find out what happened in the blank century?"_

"_Whaaaat!? H-How do you now that much!? Did you use your powers to spy on us in the basement?!"_

"_B-But…I…"_

"_Trying to decipher the Poneglyphs is a criminal act against the world government!"_

"_What…? B-But you guys have been researching them in the basement late at night…"_

"_You-You were spying on us… Explain yourself! This is a very serious matter we're dealing with Robin!"_

"_I know it's bad…but you would let me in the room even if I came and asked! That's why I've studied so hard…because then I thought you would treat me like everyone else…"_

"_It's true that you've acquired enough knowledge to be called a scholar, but you're still just a child… If the government finds out what we're doing, then every one of us could be put to death. We're doing it fully aware of the risk. Since this became the law of the world eight hundred years ago, there have been numerous scholars you have lost their lives. Although we can't stop now and I'll tell you why; we of Ohara are the only ones in history who managed to decipher the ancient texts. Because of this, we cannot go back. Swear to the tree of knowledge that if you ever try to approach the basement again, I'll forbid you from entering the research lab and the library… Do you understand?!"_

* * *

A bead of sweat rolled down her face while she bit her bottom lip. This did not go unnoticed by the swordsman.

"Hey, kid! What the hell's the matter with you! Speak up!" Zoro was tired of being in the dark and wanted some answers. It was obvious that something strange was going on on the island.

"Uhh… Zoro…I-uhh… I h-have to go…"

"You have to go? Go where?"

"I-I'll be back… I just have to g-go see something…" And with that, Robin turned and started sprinting off to the tree of knowledge while trying to keep herself from panicking.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Zoro shouted at the girl, but didn't bother running after her because he knew she wouldn't listen.

"Grrr… What the hell is her problem…? Those damn marines, they always gotta make things more complicated…" he growled in frustration from being unable to decipher the dilemma.

"Screw it! I don't give a shit what happens to that girl or this damn island… I'm leaving…" he roared to himself and looked over to his half finished raft in disappointment.

"Well, I guess I need finish this damn raft…"

Grabbing his swords and slipping them through his holster on his haramaki, the swordsman efficiently began putting his makeshift raft together, as the pile of logs he cut a day ago gradually shrunk. He couldn't keep thoughts of the distressed raven haired girl from flooding his mind, and the sight of the navy battleship gave him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

After being warned about the navy ship anchoring on the island, the scholars of Ohara gathered in the base of the tree of knowledge and began discussing a plan. They knew there was a good chance of an investigation by the marines, so it was crucial to preserve as much of the library as possible. Just then the door to the library opened, revealing a familiar young woman.

"Hello everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it?" she said, taking her hat off and allowing her long white hair to flow freely past her shoulders. Her sharp blue eyes gazed over the group of scholars she had once been acquainted with.

"It-It's Olvia…" one of the researchers said.

Whispering started between the group of archaeologists before they decided to ask the woman directly.

"We heard news that you'd been captured by the navy…"

"Don't tell us you came back on their ship…"

The group quieted, waiting for her to respond.

"I'm sorry that I came back bearing bad news, but everything you heard is true…" Olvia said, clearly disgusted with the whole situation.

"So the government has finally set its sights on Ohara? It's not your fault; we all knew this would happen eventually…" Dr. Clover decided to speak, however his reassuring words didn't seem to affect the visitor.

"I'm not sure how much you know exactly, but the Poneglyph search team that set out six years ago was destroyed. All of the researchers, thirty three of them, except for me were killed," she stated, clearly distraught by the fact.

"I was also temporarily captured, and along their investigations, they figured out that we had come from Ohara… I'm sorry…because of me, all of the people on this island are in danger!" she cried and put her head in her hands.

"Nonsense! It's no one's fault!" Professor Clover interrupted, "Those who set out to sea and those who stayed here—we're all one team. It was you who experienced a terrible time…we put you through a horrible ordeal…we know how much you've suffered…"

Wiping away the tears that were threatening to fall, Olvia looked up at Clover.

"Professor…"

Feeling the need to lift the spirit in the room, Clover continued.

"Ohara is a place where talented scholars from all around the world can gather and continue studying history. For years now, the government has seen us as a rising threat…"

"They must be thinking that they finally found something to use against us. They're not gonna pass up this opportunity… I'm not sure how we'll get out of this one…" Roche spoke up.

"I know, but we were fortunate to discover that information when we did. In the end, everyone on Ohara who claims to be a scholar will be killed, so before the marines get here we have to escape from Ohara!" Olvia exclaimed, still teary-eyed.

"Unfortunately, you're right. I believe this time we won't be able to slip past their investigation like we have in the past, and they'll probably eliminate us without listening to reason…" Clover agreed while stating the ill-fated truth, but was quickly interrupted by the white haired woman.

"Then hurry up and run! We have to get out of here!"

"I'm sorry Olvia, but you know I cannot run and leave one of mankind's greatest treasures behind…"

"Everyone feels the same way, Olvia" Rint, one of the listening archaeologists, agreed.

"Yeah, we still don't know exactly what the government is planning to do…" another archaeologist said.

"But if we run, the precious history that lies here won't be protected!" Zaldie finished.

"We're not planning on dying here, don't worry…" Roche reassured.

"You guys…" Olvia stuttered, overwhelmed by her friends' determination to save what was so important to her, as well as the world.

"More importantly, I see there's something else weighing on your mind…"

Olvia looked at Clover and immediately knew what, or more precisely _who_, he was talking about.

"I can't see her, it's too late for that…"

"She looks just like you did when you were that age and she's just as clever too…"

"If she's safe, then that's enough. But when I decided to join you I had to give up my attachment to her; I can't let her be the daughter of a criminal…"

Suddenly the door to the library burst open, revealing a panicked archaeologist.

"Bad news! Another ship came! And this one is flying the World Government's flag!"

All the scholars in the tree of knowledge, including Clover and Olvia, seemed to tense at this dire news.

"With a high ranking official coming all the way to the West Blue, it indeed seems quite serious…"

Walking over to a nearby bookshelf, Olvia slid it to the side against the wall, revealing multiple rifles hanging on the wall. Taking one of the guns off the wall, Olvia looked back at the other scholars.

"Alright everyone, listen up! From now on, you and I are neither friends nor colleagues… You have to remember this," she exclaimed before running out the door, against the calls of Clover and the rest.

"Olvia wait!"

* * *

On the other side of town, Robin could be seen frantically running towards the tree of knowledge, desperately trying to see if the archaeologists were okay. Even though she wasn't allowed to study the void century with them, she was still part of their team. They were the only ones who could help her achieve her dream of seeing her mother again.

"I-I...have to hurry…and tell everyone…before it's too…late…" she panted, continuing to run straight for the enormous tree at the island's center.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me… Another ship? Damn it…what the hell is happening on this island?!" Zoro asked himself in bewilderment upon seeing another navy battleship approach the island's shore around the same location as the first one.

After finishing his raft just moments ago, Zoro sat down and sorted the thoughts going through his mind. He had considered rushing into town on multiple occasions already, but stopped himself from acting recklessly. He sure as hell didn't want to get caught up in any of the mess going on here, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to leave at the moment.

Zoro groaned in frustration, "Grrr… Why, cause of that stupid kid?" he argued with himself.

"Why the hell should I care what happens to her…she's just some random girl who saw me wash up a few days ago…" Zoro continued arguing with himself, and anyone who would have been watching him would have thought he was mentally unstable.

Even if he didn't care about the girl, which he kept telling himself, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was in trouble. Not knowing why a girl like her would be endangered by the marines, Zoro's internal struggle ensued, before he closed his eyes as an attempt at meditation.

* * *

"Alright, let the headquarters know that we've arrived at our destination." Spandine snarled at his agent. Walking down from the navy ship that wore the World Government flag, he stepped onto the island of Ohara, impatiently cursing under his breath.

"Let's go! Keep on moving! I want to get this shit over with!" he yelled while countless government soldiers ran off the ship and prepared to storm the island.

"Ugh… What a pain… I better get a promotion once this crap is over…" he growled to himself, "Hey, go get all those damn scholars and restrain them, every last one of 'em!"

"Yes sir!"

The marines simultaneously saluted his orders before running off towards the town.

* * *

Just moments after Nico Olvia rushed out of the tree of knowledge the door slammed open again, revealing none other than Nico Robin, panting heavily to regain her breath while catching the attention of the other archaeologists.

"Robin? What's the matter?" Clover spoke up, still recovering from what had happened moments ago.

Robin looked up at the professor and clenched her fists. Small beads of sweat ran down her face.

"We're in trouble!" she exclaimed, "Navy battleships are coming to this island right now! They're probably trying to capture all the scholars on Ohara!"

Clover furrowed his eyebrows and sighed as he walked over to Robin.

"You're right Robin, there is a Navy ship coming to Ohara, but it's no battleship and they won't be capturing anyone." Clover crouched down so he was eye level with the young girl.

"However, they _are_ paying us a visit and that means the library will be under a harsh investigation. Listen, Robin. Even if the Government people come, you must not tell them you're an archaeologist. Since you're so young, no one will think that you're a scholar. Got that?"

As Professor Clover finished explaining the situation to Robin, the door to the library opened once again. This time, it revealed someone a bit less friendly.

"Get out of our way!" yelled a government agent as he threw a researcher onto the ground of the room. The archaeologists quickly looked towards their beaten comrade, before settling their gaze onto the agents.

"Stop what you're doing! Get outside with your hands in the air, now!" the lead agent ordered.

"The researchers here at the tree of knowledge are being suspected of a serious crime—deciphering Poneglyphs! It requires a thorough search, so all of you, go outside immediately!"

Professor Clover walked up to the rude government courier, and eyed him sternly.

"You had better treat this place with care. The value of everything in here is well beyond your imagination."

"I don't have to listen to a word you say, old man!" the agent interrupted, "Take them outside!"

Robin struggled to calm herself down as she and the other researchers were pushed out of the tree of knowledge, with nothing else to do but wait. Thoughts of her mother and the rest of the scholars flooded her mind, and she couldn't dare imagine what was going to happen.

While being rudely pushed out of the library, Robin could hear other government agents forcing the local citizens to evacuate. Most of them did so with little resistance, and she could only think her aunt did the same without even thinking of her.

"Robin, there seems to be an evacuation ship waiting on the west shore of the island. We aren't sure what the government is now planning to do to us, so I want you to go too." Clover sternly advised the young girl.

"No way! I'm staying here with my friends! There's nothing but mean people on that ship anyway!"

"Robin…"

"I'm an archaeologist just like everyone else! I'm the same as –"

"That's enough, just get out of here!"

"Mwahahahahahaaa… It seems like everything is going swell around here!" the unstable voice of Spandine hollered. The archaeologists turned in horror upon seeing Nico Olvia slung over an agent's shoulder, clearly injured. They all cringed in anger as the agent brutally tossed her to the ground.

"Alright, listen up! She's an escaped prisoner who was found to be illegally deciphering ancient texts, so if she has any connection to you scumbags then just spit it out so I can go home," the foul man ordered.

"Robin, for the last time, hurry up and leave…" Clover whispered to her. Robin just stared at the injured woman in pity before turning her attention to the insane marine captain. Like many times before, she just wanted to curl up in a ball and hope everything would pass, but she knew she couldn't. The girl apprehensively waited to find out what would happen while trying to ignore the strange feeling deep in her stomach.

* * *

"Holy shit…"

If there was ever a time in Zoro's life where he was intimidated, now was the time.

Beads of sweat rolled down the swordsman's face as he looked straight out into the ocean. He was met face to face with over ten marine battleships closing in on the island.

"What…is going on here…?" Zoro was at a loss for words. He'd seen a lot of navy ships before, but never so many at a single island. He wasn't even sure if he could make his way off the island on his raft with all the navy ships in his way. And even if they weren't exactly in his way, they would probably end up confronting him. Zoro swore the marines thought he was a pirate, which is why he never trusted them and they never trusted him.

Then, out of nowhere, a huge explosion went off in the middle of the island. Zoro whipped his head around to see part of the giant tree on fire. The green haired swordsman looked back at the army of marine ships and his doubts seemed to be answered. He knew that, with this number of warships, this island did something to really piss the government off.

While trying to evaluate the reason for this whole mess, recent thoughts from this island flew through his mind, most of them dealing with the young, little girl he came to know as Robin.

"_So you said your dream was to uncover the blank century or something?"_

_Robin looked up at him with bright eyes. "Yeah, that's what the other archaeologists I studied with do in secret…but they won't let me join them," she said with a change in her mood._

"_I don't see why not… I mean for god's sake, you've got a doctorate, why wouldn't they let you study with them?" the swordsman questioned._

"_They said that studying the void century is illegal and means going against the world government…"_

"_Going against the world government, huh? I guess that's not really a surprise… I'm sure something like that is taken pretty seriously among those idiots, I mean, why else would they forbid people from studying an entire century that nobody knows about? They're obviously hiding something…" Zoro thought out loud._

"_I just want to be with my mother and help her research…"_

Zoro's onyx eyes widened upon realizing what may be going on here. Researching the blank century was illegal and anyone found guilty was usually put to death…

He looked out at the countless ships surrounding the island. He now knew why they were here, and he knew that they would finish the job. They weren't going to let any archaeologist leave this island alive…

"_Robin…" said Zoro while he turned his head to look at her, "You got a dream?" he asked the wide eyed girl. She slowly swallowed and blinked a few times._

"_Y-Yes! I want to be just like my mother and find the true history!" she declared strongly as Zoro smirked._

"Damn it!" Zoro cursed loudly before turning and sprinting into the trees and towards the center of the island. He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing and wasn't aware of the consequences that would follow, but he'd be damned if he was going to let that girl die…

"Just hold on Robin, I'm on my way!"

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**A/N: **Yeah... nothing you haven't already read...

I apologize for making all you awesome readers what so long just for this. Next chapter should be the last one, so hopefully I can finish it by the end of the week.

Thanks for the reviews everyone! You're all great!

Final chapter coming soon!


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